U.S. Judge Suspends Extradited Mexican Gulf Cartel Kingpin's Trial, Again

So much for speedy trials in the United States. The trial of 'former' Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen, remains

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'frozen' in a U.S. federal court, three years after he was extradited from Mexico to face charges of drug trafficking.

Hilda Tagle, the judge handling the case in Southeast Texas District Court in Houston, has canceled all scheduled hearings to define the legal status of Cardenas Guillen, which has technically paralyzed all legal processes against him.

The progress and details of the case are unknown after the judge ordered the record sealed from the start to keep from public scrutiny.

The judge also imposed a gag order prohibiting federal prosecutors and defense lawyers discussing the case with the press and non-members.

Last week, The Houston Chronicle was able to break the long silence about the case through a motion to obtain court documents which were eventually released by the judge.

The newspaper reported that the U.S. government has seized from Cardenas Guillen more than $ 26 million.

The documents also let them know details about the security concerns expressed by the kingpin who was extradited from Mexico in January 2007. Most of the case, however, continues to remain sealed.

The Mexican Cartel boss is accused of a total of 17 federal charges, including 10 for possession with intent to distribute and smuggling of various amounts of marijuana and cocaine, five counts of assault and threat to federal and local agents, one count of money laundering a sum of more than 500 thousand dollars and another for the operation of a criminal enterprise.

The first date for the start of his trial had originally been set for 5 November 2007, 10 months after his extradition.

Since then the process has been repeatedly postponed and is now unclear when or if the decision will be made allowing the case to be brought to trial.

The lengthy process has caused speculation among many legal analysts in both countries that Cardenas Guillen could be negotiating an agreement with authorities to avoid the trial and secure a lesser sentence.

Independent observers say the defense may be trying to avoid Cardenas Guillen being sent to a maximum security prison and isolation known in America as "Super Max".

Cardenas Guillen would definitely be looking to avoid the same fate as his predecessor, the drug trafficker Juan Garcia Abrego, who after a trial in Houston was sentenced in 1996 to 11 life sentences and sent to a "Super Max" prison in Florence, Colorado.